Temperature, Precipitation, Snowfall, and Wind Measurements
Weather in New England is rarely “normal”, but the tables below show the average monthly weather conditions at the Blue Hill Observatory for the 130-year period from 1891-2020. Extremes are shown for the full period of record, 1885-Present, except peak wind gusts, which are for 1940-Present.
|
Temperature (oF) |
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|
Month |
Average Maximum |
Average Minimum |
Mean |
Record Highest (Year) |
Record Lowest (Year) |
|
January |
33.8 |
18.5 |
25.9 |
68 (1950, 2020) |
-16 (1957) |
|
February |
35.1 |
19.1 |
26.6 |
71 (2017) |
-21 (1934) |
|
March |
43.5 |
27.0 |
34.5 |
89 (1998) |
-5 (1950) |
|
April |
55.0 |
36.6 |
44.9 |
94 (1976) |
6 (1923) |
|
May |
66.4 |
46.5 |
55.5 |
96 (2017) |
27 (1911) |
|
June |
74.7 |
55.6 |
64.3 |
99 (1919) |
36 (1945) |
|
July |
80.2 |
61.7 |
70.0 |
100 (1977) |
44 (1988) |
|
August |
78.2 |
60.5 |
68.3 |
101 (1949,1975) |
39 (1965) |
|
September |
71.1 |
53.7 |
61.5 |
99 (1953) |
28 (1914) |
|
October |
60.6 |
43.6 |
51.3 |
88 (1963) |
21 (1922, 1928,1936) |
|
November |
48.9 |
33.8 |
40.7 |
81 (1950) |
5 (1932) |
|
December |
37.7 |
23.2 |
30.1 |
74 (1998) |
-19 (1933) |
|
Year |
57.1 |
40.0 |
47.8 |
101 (1949,1975) |
-21 (1934) |
|
Precipitation (inches) |
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|
Month |
Mean |
Record Highest (Year) |
Record Lowest (Year) |
24 Hour Maximum (Year) |
|
January |
4.24 |
11.61 (1979) |
0.89 (1955) |
3.10 (1889) |
|
February |
3.99 |
9.32 (1969) |
0.71 (1987) |
4.85 (1886) |
|
March |
4.59 |
18.81 (2010) |
0.06 (1915) |
6.62 (1968) |
|
April |
4.14 |
10.37 (1987) |
0.92 (1892) |
3.47 (2004) |
|
May |
3.67 |
10.10 (2006) |
0.50 (1944) |
5.02 (1984) |
|
June |
3.80 |
17.32 (1998) |
0.14 (1999) |
6.10 (1998) |
|
July |
3.62 |
11.67 (1938) |
0.13 (1952) |
4.67 (1979) |
|
August |
4.02 |
18.78 (1955) |
0.53 (1981) |
9.93 (1955) |
|
September |
3.92 |
12.37 (1999) |
0.41 (2014) |
5.86 (1961) |
|
October |
4.14 |
14.72 (2005) |
0.22 (1924) |
7.41 (1996) |
|
November |
4.34 |
10.31 (2018) |
0.55 (1976) |
5.06 (1955) |
|
December |
4.46 |
12.60 (1969) |
0.92 (1955) |
5.68 (1969) |
|
Year |
48.92 |
71.00 (1998) |
26.96 (1965) |
9.93 (1955) |
|
Snowfall, Ice Pellets (inches) |
||||
|
Month |
Mean |
Record Highest (Year) |
Record Lowest (Year) |
24-Hour Maximum (Year) |
|
January |
16.3 |
56.3 (1948) |
0.7 (1980) |
28.3 (2015) |
|
February |
16.8 |
83.6 (2015) |
0.4 (1937) |
28.2 (1969) |
|
March |
12.0 |
52.0 (1956) |
T (1921) |
27.2 (1960) |
|
April |
4.1 |
24.2 (1996) |
0 |
15.1 (1996) |
|
May |
0.1 |
7.8 (1977) |
0 |
7.8 (1977) |
|
June |
0.0 |
T (1907) |
0 |
T (1907) |
|
July |
0.0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
August |
0.0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
September |
0.0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
October |
0.4 |
8.5 (2011) |
0 |
6.8 (1979) |
|
November |
3.3 |
23.0 (1898) |
0 |
16.0 (1898) |
|
December |
11.5 |
45.2 (1945) |
0 |
21.0 (1960) |
|
Season |
62.3 |
150.8 (2014-15) |
12.6 (1936-37) |
29.0 (1997)a |
a The 24-hour maximum snowfall of 29.0 inches occurred on March 31 and April 1, 1997 without surpassing either monthly record.
|
Wind Speed, Wind Direction, Peak Gusts (mph) |
||||
|
Month |
Mean Wind Speed |
Mean Wind Direction |
Peak Gust a |
Peak Gust Direction (Year) |
|
January |
16.5 |
WNW |
101b |
SE (1978) |
|
February |
16.6 |
WNW |
102b |
S (1970) |
|
March |
16.4 |
WNW |
102b |
S (1942) |
|
April |
15.7 |
WNW |
83 |
NW (1977) |
|
May |
14.0 |
W |
83 |
NE (1967) |
|
June |
13.1 |
SW |
86b |
WNW (1946) |
|
July |
12.2 |
SW |
110b |
NW (1942) |
|
August |
12.0 |
WSW |
125 |
SE (1954) |
|
September |
13.0 |
WSW |
186a,c |
S (1938) |
|
October |
14.5 |
W |
81 |
S (1976) |
|
November |
15.6 |
W |
96b |
SSE (1951) |
|
December |
16.1 |
WNW |
95 |
S (1966) |
|
Year |
14.6 |
W |
186a |
S (1938) |
a Peak wind gusts are for the period 1940-Present, except for the calculated gust from the 1938 Hurricane.
b Peak wind gust estimated from available Blue Hill wind measurements.
c The second highest wind gust for September was 140 mph, SSE in 1960.
